“Right,” she whispered. “Pretend.”
An apology perched on the tip of my tongue, but I’d already said the wrong thing and had no intention of doing it again. So, I took the coward’s way out. Spinning on my heel, I washed my hands without looking at her, zipped up my jeans, and escaped into her room.
I’d just pulled my Henley over my head when the patter of tiny feet echoed down the hall.
“Kate!” Millie yelled, her voice light and happy. “Time to wake up.”
She rounded the corner then skidded to an abrupt halt. Her searching gaze roamed over the rumpled sheets then drifted to me. Much like Kate’s a few moments ago, Millie’s eyes widened.
“You’re not Kate.”
An unfamiliar heat crept into my cheeks as I scraped a palm over the back of my neck. “She’s in the shower.” Washing off the mess I’d made. And possibly cursing me.
But this sweet little girl did not need to know that.
“Oh, okay.” Her attention shifted to the bathroom door. A frown appeared on her forehead before her gaze met mine. “Will you help me?”
“Sure, princess. What do you need?”
Her smile was big. “The cereal is too high up.” With that, she skipped out of the room. I blew out a breath I had no idea I was holding and trailed behind her. As I got closer to the kitchen, the music I’d heard earlier grew louder.
The source? A tablet perched on the counter.
A chuckle escaped me. “You like your music, huh?”
She stood in front of a long open cabinet. She had that pancake plushie I gave her in one hand and the other rested on her hip. Head tilted back; she kept her gaze on whatever was in that cabinet.
“We always start the day with a dance party. Kate says it gives our heads endo...endo...endolphins.” Jerking her arm up, Millie pointed at something. “Cheerios are over there.”
I swiped a hand over my mouth to hide my grin as I joined her in front of the cabinet. Instead of getting the cereal box for her, I lifted her up and let her do it herself. The giggle that escaped her after I’d put her down was so damn sweet.
The sound reached between my ribs and wrapped itself around that beating organ inside my chest. And very much like Kate, this tiny human had somehow burrowed her way into a space I had no idea existed.
“Can I help you pour that into a bowl for you?”
She shook her head. “I can do it.”
For a few minutes, I watched her get her breakfast ready. Plushie tucked under her arm, she got a bowl, spoon, and milk then slipped onto a stool at the counter. With her tongue poking out of her mouth, she prepared her cereal without even making a mess.
When she was done, she pulled the tablet and her bowl closer. But instead of eating, her eyes were glued to whatever was on the small screen.
Curiosity finally got the better of me. Standing behind her, I peered over her shoulder. “So, which one is the pancake guy?”
Her squeaky yelp bounced off the walls followed by an upset, “You scared me. Not cool.”
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I wanted to see what you were watching.”
Her pout was still firmly in place. Hoping to get in her good graces, I pointed toward the tablet. “Is this your favorite song?”
The beat was annoyingly catchy as the seven guys danced in front of exploding cars.
“Yes,” Millie said, nodding furiously. Straightening in her seat, her pout disappeared, and she eagerly gave me a crash course about the group she and Kate loved to listen to. Theonlygroup they listened to, if Millie was to be believed.
“You sure know a lot about these guys,” I said after I didn’t even know how many minutes. “You mustreallylike them.”
Again, she nodded enthusiastically, her wild curls flopping into her face once more. “When Mommy went away, and I came to live with Kate, this music made it hurt a little less.” Her tiny hand tapped against her chest. “Not a lot. But Kate said a little is better than nothing, and that all the littles will add up to a lot someday.”
Holy shit.I never thought the words of a six-year-old could cut so deep. My chest ached, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about the razorblades sliding down my throat.
